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Double dactylic poem

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A humorous verse form using double dactylic meter with specific structural rules

Detailed Definition
Double dactylic poem: A light verse form consisting of two dactylic tetrameter quatrains with specific structural requirements including a nonsense word in the first line and a six-syllable single word in one line of the second stanza. This humorous form, also called "higgledy-piggledy," follows strict metrical and rhyming patterns.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Higgledy-piggledy" opening followed by a proper name; eight lines with specific dactylic meter; the sixth line containing only one word; humorous subject matter about famous people
Additional Notes
Invented by Anthony Hecht; always begins with "Higgledy-piggledy"; second line must be a proper name; requires strict double dactylic meter; sixth line must be a single word; humorous in tone; challenging form combining strict rules with comic effect
Also Known As
Higgledy-piggledy verse Twin falling-foot poem Paired three-syllable meter Double dactyl Twin falling meter verse
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